Apostilles

An apostille is a form of authentication established at the 1961 Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents, to which the United States is a subscriber. An apostille is used to authenticate public documents, certifying the authenticity of the issuing official’s or notary public’s signature on the document, the capacity in which the person has acted, and identifies the seal/stamp which the document bears. Apostilles are used as transmittal on documents executed in one subscribing country that are being sent to another subscribing country.

Certifications

A certification is a form of authentication used for countries that do not participate in the 1961 Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents. A certification is used to authenticate public documents, certifying the authenticity of the issuing official’s or notary public’s signature on the document, the capacity in which the person has acted, and identifies the seal/stamp which the document bears. These documents typically require additional authentication by the U.S. Department of State after receiving state authentication.